This invention relates generally to graphical user interfaces. More particularly, it relates to a user interface which displays status information for many systems in a very large computing network.
It is common to couple large numbers of computers into computer networks. With the present evolution of the Internet and intranets, it is apparent that even greater numbers of computers will be coupled to a computer network. Perhaps even now, there are more interconnected computers than standalone systems. The size of these computer networks compounds a number of problems for a network administrator.
One of the problems faced by the network administrator is understanding the status of the various systems in the computer network. Many past efforts for displaying status information present the systems as individual icons interconnected together by lines representing respectively the computer systems and the network. This is generally successful when the network is small. However, this type of graphic display becomes increasingly difficult to present on a single display when the number of systems is large.
The prior art has to some degree dealt with the problem in several ways. Some systems increase the size of the network map so that only a portion of the network map can be seen at a particular time. The system administrator must scroll the map to see all of the network information. An alternate solution is to represent entire regions of the network by a single icon in a top level display. When status details are desired, the system administrator "drills down" to lower level displays which have the status details for individual machines. For example, a network administrator selects an icon representing a particular network, whereupon another panel is presented. Depending on the level of complexity of the network, the panel may have icons representing individual machines or may be an intermediate panel for an intermediate organization level, e.g., group level, so that further selection and panels are needed before the status of individual nodes within the network can be determined.
None of the prior art solutions effectively represent status information for a very complicated large scale distributed computing environment so that a network administrator can readily understand the status of the entire network on a single computer screen. The large map method requires scrolling, and possibly also drill down, to see the needed information if the administrator is interested in an area not currently displayed. Once at an area of interest, the administrator loses the ability to see status of undisplayed areas. The drill down method allows the administrator to see detailed information, but only on a limited part of the network. Neither of these methods gives the administrator a truly global view of the network.
This invention proposes one solution to this problem.